Mechanisms of relaxation induced by angiotensin II in isolated canine and human uterine arteries

The present study aimed to determine the action of angiotensin II and to pharmacologically analyze mechanisms of their action in isolated uterine arteries. Canine and human uterine artery strips were suspended in Ringer-Locke solutions for isometric tension recording. Canine and human uterine arteries responded to angiotensin II with transient contraction followed by relaxation, which were abolished by losartan, an AT1 receptor subtype antagonist. Cyclooxygenase inhibitors augmented the contraction and abolished the relaxation. The relaxation was also abolished or suppressed by tranylcypromine, a prostaglandin I2 synthesis inhibitor. The relaxant response of dog uterine arteries to angiotensin II was partially suppressed by endothelium denudation but was not influenced by nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. Conversely, the response of human uterine arteries to the peptide was unaffected by endothelium denudation. The antagonists used and endothelium denudation did not inhibit the relaxation caused by a prostaglandin I2 analogue. It appears that the angiotensin II-induced relaxation is mediated by vasodilator prostaglandins, possibly prostaglandin I2, released from both endothelium and subendothelial tissues in dog uterine arteries. In human uterine arteries, the vasodilator prostaglandin is released from subendothelial tissues due to AT1 receptor stimulation by the peptide.